Another really great update, Lance! And great way to encourage us players to talk amongst ourselves and have some real discussions about what to say and what not. This is going to be fun.

Those shots of the shafts are just amazing -- very professional, and sceery, too. Heck, all of your backgrounds are wonderful. Brenlid -- another Hutt / crime boss type, perhaps? Hopefully neither him nor Tolar are people you'll have to deal with anytime soon...

One small thing: didn't we put our gun away? I ask because the inventory list says that it's still drawn. Just checking.

Now, some analysis of the situation. Yes, Lucen and Fardle are holding the guns, but Doc is clearly the one in charge here, and she clearly has enough influence over both of them to keep them from doing anything too rash. Even Lucen lowers his weapon when she tells him to. Also, both Doc and Lucen seem like they want to hear your story; even Lucen said, "if you've got somethin' to say, say it."

So I'm definitely for telling them our story, and for telling them (most of) the truth. But I also think we should be cautious about it, and not tell everything on the first go. For example, it might be prudent to avoid mentioning his name at the beginning (at least until they ask us; maybe the story will seem familar to them). Begin with the bare-bones, nutshell version, perhaps something like this:

"Yes, I have an uncle whom I think might be in trouble with the Empire. I was supposed to work for him this summer, but he's been missing for X many days, and yesterday (or whevener) his apartment was ransacked by Imperial stormtroopers -- I noticed them leaving the apartment as I was coming home one day." (Notice what's being omitted there.)

We don't have to tell them his occupation, or even why we are looking for him. Let them ask questions about particulars if they want to know. Maybe they'll recognize him...

Here's another thing. Doc keeps talking about "mutual benefit," "helping each other out." Well, if we're to hold up our end of that, we need to know their story, too. So, somewhere in this conversation, we might respectfully ask them for their story. Even if it's just, "And what could I do to help you?"

Anyway, just throwing out some ideas. Any other thoughts from anyone? Can't wait to see where this goes next!

First of all, masterful update Lance. I feel like the story is really about to take off now, as we are close to starting our "mission."

The pics look outstanding - especially the shaft picture... also, did you use a VOTC Luke for a couple of the pics? Looks like you did, which is fine - I just thought the back of the head looked different in a couple pics.

About Doc, and this is a minor customizing thing - is the paint chipping off of her arms? Maybe you might want to repaint her, and seal with a matte acrylic spray sealer?

On what we should do next, I agree with Findswoman here - let's tell them a bit about ourselves and the situation with our uncle, but we don't have to tell everything just yet. Likewise, they need to tell us some more about them too. We need to know why it is in our best interest to help them, and just what they are trying to do. I don't mean to not try and come up with new ideas, I just think that Findswoman was reading my mind on what I'd do in this situation.

I would definitely ask them though, how they can help you to find your uncle.

One small thing: didn't we put our gun away? I ask because the inventory list says that it's still drawn. Just checking.

Ooops. Yes, we DID put our gun away. That was just a goof and has since been corrected. Sigh...that's what happens when you cut and paste.

And I wish I could take ANY credit for the shaft, but I can't. It's just a beautiful image I found on the net last year while surfing for cool pix to use in photonovels! Funnily enough, I had no intention of using that at all, but I couldn't find my toy ladder last night and I had planned to create a quick shot of you crawling past a ladder in the tunnels. Needless to say, this looks about a million times better...

And, yes , Chewie, the paint is chipping big time on Doc. I actually really hate that custom, I made it a couple years ago as part of another (defunct) project. Alas, because a certain forum member who shall remain nameless has STILL not sent me another Amanda Kirby I traded for back in the SPRING, I still have to use her until I can make a new one.

The paint looks crappy, but I don't even want to bother to fix it, since the custom will still suck even if it was painted well.

And, yes, Luke does some "stand in" work for Deak in a couple of shots, as he did during the last update. It's actually a comtech Luke, not VOTC. Way back when I started this story, I made the Deak figures out of only whatever spare parts I had at the time, which is why he's such a lame figure. I used Luke as a body double since Deak can't kneel and I still hope to do a revamped Deak at some point.

very cool update Lance! as everyone already said, the tunnel shot is sick. i also really like the shot through the grate when they all come towards you. as for what to do...

again i must go with an agressive aproach. somthing along these lines:

" your right time is crucial, but we met at your location, which isn't quite as secure as you had thought, at your time and i gave you the upper-hand by telling you where i was, now it is time for you to show some trust and acomidation to me by answering some of my questions!"

and we could proceed to ask what ever questions we feel they might be inclined to answer, such as:

-who they are?- give them a shortened version of your story, like findswoman's good example, and ask them how they may help you find your uncle.-what this list they where talking about is?-what they think they might want from us?

just show them you aren't there to waste thier time and you don't want them to waste yours, that you mean business. i think that Fang and his furry friend will respect that and if not, it'll at least not give them yet another advantage by getting answers out of you and then decieding what they want to tell you! you'll have the conversational advantage!

that's my take......

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=jEdIsTyLe=---------------------------------------------------------" The first soap was made from the ashes of hero's, with out pain, with out sacrifice, we would have nothing."

Great update Lance! I've been checking everyday to see if you had updated, it was certainly worth the wait.

Call me paranoid, call me a pesimest, whatever you want but I am going to go with a more aggressive approach again.

Blondie and company have done nothing to earn my trust yet, and being outnumbered in the lower levels of a city we don't know too much about certainly isn't working in our favor. Fang seems too hostile and there is something off with the Doc. She is almost too nice.

I think right now we need them as much as they need us, and we need to keep it that way. Even if they are hostile, as long as we have something to offer them we should be safe. Meaning we can't tell them our whole life story, or even all the details surrounding the events that happened earlier on the station, and for our uncle's sake, any information about him needs to be very vague.

I'd say something along the lines of:

-"You made me come down here. How about you answer a few questions for me first."

-"First, who are you and who are you working for?"-"What is this place, and what are those bodies?"-"What do you want from me."-"How will information about my uncle help you?"

Then if we aren't getting anywhere, I say tell them our story, leaving out certain details, and any names, times, exact places, the name of the ship we came in on etc. We need to give them some information but hold enough in reserve so that we are still of use to them, and until we can trust them it would be best not to tell them of the trooper or our relationship with Callie.

Of course all this has to be done in a timely manner, they are in a hurry, and we don't want to be in the sewer long especially if this Tolar may be looking for us...

This time, I was able to give our oft-ignored "aggressive" voters a voice. I hope, at least for the remainder of this sequence, to try to give everyone who wants it a chance to speak their mind. In this case, that meant combining suggestions from the more diplomatic players with the aggressives.

First, the diplomats, which include Findswoman, Chewie, Diddly, Flacksguy, Ashared Hett, Commander Claus. Most of the dialogue comes from Findswoman, and the suggestion to mention Boba Fett came from Ashared Hett.

Please note, however, since you never heard Boba Fett's name mentioned alound and since, of course, your character has no idea who he is, that you were simply able to mention that you saw a "bounty hunter".

During the second round, I combined the dialogue and questions of Jedi style and Ryan.

Blight had some great analysis about the situation, but was a little light on specifics. Diddly was also vague on specifics, so let me just encourage you guys to put as much detail into your posts and suggestions as possible. The more detailed, the better the chance of having your exact ideas implemented.

We had one vote for mentioning Callie and one against, so I left it out. Didn't seem to fit the context of the conversation, anyway, but there will be plenty of chances to mention her in the very near future if you guys wish.

And I wasn't able to implement Longhorn's ideas about having them go to your ship. At least not yet. But his idea about spying on them is a clever one...if you could convince them to go with you to your ship...but that's a big IF.

Anyway, here's the update. More talking/conversation, so, again, put as much detail/dialogue in as you want and I will be able to turn around another update even faster this time, without the distractions of the holidays!

that was sick lance! some good back and forth dialog between charecters and doc's true colors are begining to show. the corpse in the bacta tank with the brown water looks awsome!

as for what to do, this is no time to back down! draw your blaster and put it right up in Fang's face the same as he is doing to you, or better yet point your blaster at Doc, see how far he is willing to go since he is supposed to be protecting her. keep up your agressive stance and let them know your no one to play with.

after you have your blaster pointed at either fang or doc, tell them "your not here to fight but you'll have no problem leaving 3 more bodies rotting in this forgoten hole! you'll answer a couple more of thier questions but they are gunna answer a couple more of yours, this isn't a game and they had better decide now weather it's in thier best interest to get into a confrontation, after all it would be a shame for your plans to be stomped out by a little farm boy!"

-perhaps we could mention that we smoked that stoormie earlier and that we have nothing to lose. everyone has to be weary of an animal when it's cornered. plus if they know you've killed an imperial trooper and are on the run from the empire, they may be more willijng to take you in or at least accept you!

as a couple others, i'm sure i will always be on the agressive side here, it just makes for a better story! and i'm sure we'd all love some action!

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=jEdIsTyLe=---------------------------------------------------------" The first soap was made from the ashes of hero's, with out pain, with out sacrifice, we would have nothing."

Sorry I didn't give any feedback on the last installment, but this update is great. The ball is rolling, now!

As things have been left, you have very few choices.

The first, as I see it, is attempt a scuffle. Go for the gun, hope he's bluffing and won't actually kill you. Also hope the Wookie doesn't just shoot you immediately. You either come out a bada$$ or dead, but I think dead is the more likely result. All in all, a bad option.

Next is sing like a canary. Tell them all you know; about your uncle, about Fett. Even tell them you offed a Stormtrooper. Cry a little if you think it will help. Not such a great option, IMO, as you give up everything you have in terms of assets to them, and if you're going to stick around, you're going to be a worker bee from there forward. Plus once they hear what they want from you they might just kill you...

Option 3 I like best. Be ANGRY! Tell Fang you've had just about enough of the blaster in your face, and that you're not saying another word until Doc puts her dog on a leash. Tell Fang to go ahead and blast you; that you're so mixed up right now you're not sure you care if you live or die. But remind them - "Kill me, and your trip down here was for nothing". Tell them you're more than happy to work with them, but you're not going to serve them. You want a fair exchange of information, and you'll give as good as you get. If they agree, I say all of the information is on the table, save killing off that Stormie.

If they insist on anything up front, give your uncle's name. I'm *guessing* that one of these folks might know him given their story about people they attempted to hire as pilots going missing.

jedistyle -

I'd be hesitant to point my blaster at Doc. I suspect that the moment you go for your gun (unless you have it drawn already - I don't see it being drawn in the inventory) Fang will just blast you in the face. Plus, you don't want to make Doc a victim - she's been more on your side than against you so far.

Great chapter Lance - I wasn't expecting an update so fast. I agree, the set looks great, especially the nasty corpse.

Wow! That Fang guy sure is a d*ck! But just the kind of guy you want on your side. Great manipulation on his eyebrows!

I agree that you have to play hardball now with these guys too. They're rebels, but not exactly the diplomatic kind. So here's my course action.

Tell him to get the damn blaster out of your face, that if he wants your help, shooting you won't get him anything. I wouldn't pull my gun out, but I'd stand up to him. Say something like "I see why there's only three of you - your rebellion won't last if this is the way you treat potential allies."

Give him some more information - I think honesty is the best approach here, but I would still stand firm. Don't back down. Tell them you're already a wanted man as you killed a Stormtrooper and the Bounty Hunter looked like the legendary Boba Fett. You don't know why they are after your uncle, but obviously these three and you have a mutual enemy, so that's a starting point.

And tell them you will help them if they will try and help find your uncle, as it looks like your uncle could have been one of the pilots they were trying to meet up with. And with a gun right in your face, I'd tell them who your uncle is - I get the feeling they know him and will be happy to hear his name.

In-Rem - i thought about the pointing a blaster at doc thing after i posted it, but i do think it may work. she is definetley not our friend, the only thing she has helped us acomplish is getting stuck in a tough situation down in the gutter-punk sector of this sation. she may have called the wookie and Fang of us before but thats just so she could get what she wanted from us and at this point she has let fang take the lead, and it's clear what his position is.

this could also be some sort of test on her part. she is clearly woking against the empire, she is also looking for trust worthy dedicated people to work with her, if we break down and blubber out everything we know to a couple knuckleheads, how can we be trusted to work against the empire and keep the secerets of this group! pointing our weapon at her may show her, and the other 2 that we are willing to go the distance, to do what we must to survive!

but yes, we may get blasted, your standing firm against fang and demanding a even exchange of info sounds a bit more feisable. but we need to be sure they understand we will work with them, not for them!

- mabey we could try a bluff? tell them your comm link is a remote detonator and that you left a thermal charge in the vent that will make sure none of you are ever seen again! Fang had better calm down and point that thing some where else, becuase you'd hate to get jittery and slip with the remote! then we could demand the even exchange of information and the idea of working together. if it is a ship and a pilot they are after, let them know you have access to your uncles ship and you have the neccesary pilot skills to fly it. that may spark thier interest in you knowing that you may actually have somthing to offer.(by the way Lance, do we have any piloting skills?)we just need to come out with the upper hand in this situation!

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=jEdIsTyLe=---------------------------------------------------------" The first soap was made from the ashes of hero's, with out pain, with out sacrifice, we would have nothing."

Before we continue, I need to give you all a little info. about our beloved young hero, Deak.

Unfortunately, as a teenager from an unassuming, middle-class planet, Deak's knowledge of galactic affairs is extremely limited.

Deak has never heard of any "rebellion" against the Empire, there is only a small Imperial presence on his home world and few citizens have a problem with the government. To be sure, like most citizens, he does have a healthy respect and fear of the Empire, but he's never really come face to face with it before recent events.

At most, he has heard that there are far-off political rumblings of discontent with the Empire, but he doesn't really have many details and was largely disinterested in politics, anyway.

Deak has no idea who Boba Fett is, either, as he has even less knowledge about the underworld.

Deak DOES have piloting skills and he considers himself pretty good behind the wheel. But his real gifts and skills are lie in engineering and mechanics, specifically droid programming and repair (as his mother owns a droid shop). Lance hired him to be his mechanic and co-pilot for the summer, and Deak had hoped to get some real hands-on experience with starships.

So there you go. It's kind of lame, but that's the character. So, unfortunately, a few of the above suggestions will have to be disqualified from consideration.